Grayling: My email address was hijacked

Employment minister Chris Grayling today claimed that his email address had been hijacked by campaigners opposed to the Government's work experience scheme.

He said activists had sent a complaint to Tesco about the scheme, which appeared to come from his parliamentary email address.

The minister originally said his email had been "hacked" but later clarified the statement, insisting campaigners had not been able to access his inbox.

He also dismissed security concerns, while the Department for Work and Pensions said no ministerial emails were involved. Mr Grayling made the revelation as he hit back at critics of the scheme, accusing a group of socialist activists of pressuring firms to abandon it amid claims it amounts to "slave labour".

But Mr Grayling told BBC radio that none of the firms officially involved had withdrawn and said half of the people who joined it after the launch 11 weeks ago had now found a job.